We arrived in Oakland yesterday around 1700. The Matson terminal just got relocated, so now we dock in a different place. Essentially, we’ve moved from the bad part of Oakland to the worse part of Oakland.
Our plan was essentially the same as last time – to meet Satchel (Cody was busy) for dinner just a few minutes away. We figured we could walk like we did before. One of the ABs stopped us as we were about to go down the gangway, asking if we had a cab waiting for us. We told him we hadn’t planned one. He said,
“This is not like the other terminal. It’s a whole different jungle. Call a cab.”
We ended up departing with 4 other crew members who were all going different places. (Captain Idema just went for it with characteristic chillness. He walked all the way back to the other terminal to get his car. In a fedora and a leather jacket.) Usually, the shuttle drivers will have the main gate call a cab to pick you up. However, this shuttle driver had an anxiety attack when we said we wanted more than 1 cab for the six of us. (She was basically having panic attacks the entire time she drove us around the terminal, plus acting very put-upon whenever she had to do hard work like relay messages through her radio, plus stopping 3 times to answer phone calls about her other job. So that was a good start to the night.) Well, the main gate decided that wasn’t necessary anyway, so they called 1 cab. This cab driver showed up 15 minutes later thinking he was going to make a bundle driving 6 people to one spot. Upon hearing that we wanted to go 2 different places (The train station and Jack London Square), HE had a panic attack that manifested itself in a fit of rage.
Complaining the entire time, we got the people to the train station, and then he stopped at a random intersection and said “OK this is Jack London Square.” We all laughed (THERE WAS LITERALLY NOTHING THERE) which made him angrier. “Don’t you try to tell me about Jack London Square, I know where Jack London Square is, I have been here twenty-five years!!” Mike: “Okay, then just drop us at BevMo.” It’s the really big liquor store right across from the movie theatre, right next to the huge Jack London sign. Driver: “What the hell is BevMo?!”
I’ve never met a cabbie who was angry about driving people farther than he anticipated. This guy has some serious issues to work out.
We found Satchel and his longboard a little while later. Dinner was good and our journey made an entertaining story. He had actually tried to come to the terminal to meet us, but we missed each other and possibly even drove past him with the angry cabbie.
Andy: “I’m surprised you didn’t see our captain then, he walked right down that street.”
Satchel: “Wait, was he wearing a fedora?”
After dinner we departed for the ship in a cab from a different company. Our driver was a perfectly reasonable human being. The shuttle driver had not improved.
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